Washing machine



May 19, 1925.

T. W. BEHAN ET AL WASHING MACHINE Filed Aug. 19, 1924 2 Sheets-Sheet l W M. D 351 abfQM tm rgwwemtozs T. W. BEHAN ET AL -May 19, 1925.

WASHING MACHINE 1924 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Aug. 19

Patented May 19, 1925.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFF CE THOMAS w. BEHAN AND HERMAN W. noUenTY, or mnenan ron, new yomc, AS-- srenons To THE NINETEEN nnnnnnn wasnnn COMPANY, or meHA Ton, new

YORK, A CORPORATION on NEW roan.

wnsmne MACHINE.

Application filedeAug'ust 19, 1924. Serial No. 732,920.

To'aZZ whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, THOMAS BEGAN and HERMAN DoUGIrrY, citizens of the United States, and residents of Bi'ngzhamton,

in the county of Broome and State or New York, have jointly invented new and useful Improvements in ashing hilachines, of which the followingvis a description.

machines of the oscillator type;

It has for its primary object the provision of novel means for supporting andactuating the tub, whereby the numherof ,partsane reduced to a minimum and the mounting and dismounting of the tub is greatly facilitated.

The other objects and advantages of our invention will appear more fully hereinafter.

the many forms that ourlinvention may take,

Fig. 1 is a side elevation of the entire-washing machine; Fig, 2 is a fragmentary side i elevation showing only the tub 2 1 its mounting; Fig. 3 is a fragmentary front elevation, partly in section, of the parts shown in Fig. 2'; and Fig. tie a diagrammaticside elevation showing the position of the parts when the tub is in its extreme position.

- The frame of the machine consists of two skeleton side members 1, only one of which is shown in .the drawing (Fig, '1). At .each corner there :is preferably locatedua castor 2, and a leg 3, provided with means for extending it so that it will displace the castor as a support, when desired. I I not form a part of the present invention. I The oscillating tub tvma'y .be of any suitable design, but we preferably follow, in general, the design of tubshown in Un ted States Patent No. 1,147,285, issued to Riohard L. lVearne, July 20, 1915.

To obtain best results in washing'maclrines of this character, it is desirablethat the ,tub shall 'be given a combined swingingand ;tilting motion, as distingushed fro'm a'si mple rocking motion. In the above. mentioned Patent No. 1,147,285, there are shown means for imparting to the tub such a comb ned movement, with the result that its contents are givenffigure 8 motion.

In accordance with the present invention substantially this; same combined movement is imparted to the tub, but by means .of a

lathe drawing, which illustrates one of These supports do much simpler mechanism, and one which as V of iron or some other rigid material. These ()ur lnvention relates to domestic washing spiders, not only impart rigidity to the tub. but also provide supports for it. Thus each spider 5 has secured to it adjacent the lowermost central portion of the tub a yoke ti. Each of these yokes is provided with a U shaped opening or slot 6" adapted to fit over a yoke-block or projection T which is sup-- ported by, and extends inwardly from, the

frame 1. p

Ad acent the center Ofthe tub each spider 5 is also provided with a pivot pin 8 adapted the tub in position in the ends 9 of the oscil lating levers 10. Inadd-ition, as will appear in a moment, the spring acts toicnshion the reversals of movement .of the tub in its operation and thus fulfills the function of the four sprin in the aforementioned patent. Since, as has been said, it is the spring that holds the tub upon its bearings, all that is required to dismount the tub is to disconnect the spring and lift the tub off. Conversely, to mount the tub, it is necessary merely to place it in position with the yoke slots 6 over :the yoke blocks or frame .pro- 9 jections 7 and the pivot pins 8 in the endsot levers 10, andthen connect up the spring 12.

lVe shall ,now describe'the wayin which the tub, after being mounted, as above described, is actuated. l

7 The. immediate 1'ueans for actuating the .tub are the oscillat ng levers 10, of .wlnch there are two, one on each side of the tub. These levers are secured toa rocker shaft 15 and an oscillating motion ,ISJHIPHTi'BCltO one of/them (and through itand the rocker shaft 15 to the other) by means of the connecting rod 16, which in turn is actuated by the crank 17 mounted upon the crank shaft 18. Instead of securing the levers 10 to the rocker shaft and thus driving the tub from both sides, we have found that satisfactory results are attained by mounting the levers 10 on a stationary shaft (taking the place of the rocker shaft) and thus driving from one side only. Any suitable source of power such, for example, as an electric motor 19, may be used to drive the crank shaft through suitable gearing, not shown. This same source of power is preferably used also for driving the wriuger indicated at 20.

The connection between the connecting rod 16 and the lever 10 is by means of a notch '31 in the connecting rod which when the connecting rod is lowered takes-over a clutch block or projection 22 secured to the lever lVhen raised, however, as shown in Fig. 1, the connecting rod reciprocates idly, with out iin arting any motion to the levers 10.

The means shown raising and lowering the connecting rod include the lift lever 23 upon which the free end of the connecting rod rests, the lifting rod 2%, and the control lever 25, the operation of all of which is obvious from an inspection of the drawing.

The construction and operation of our improved machine is believed to be clear from the above description. To mount the tub, it is placed in position as indicated in Figs. 1 and 2. The spring 12 is then connected up and the machine is ready to operate. The motor having been started and a reciprocating mot-ion thus imparted to the connecting rod, when it is desired to start the tub in operation, the connecting rod is lowered by means of the control lever so that the notch 21 takes over the clutch block or projection 22 and thereafter carries the levers 1t) and the tub with it, as it moves bucl: and forth.

Of course if the lovers it) were coi'niected rigidly to the tub t, they would impart to the tube a simple osrillatorv or swinging motion similar to their own. lint the only connection between the lovers l0 and the tub is the pivotal one at the top of the levers. And the movement of the bottom of the tub is constrained by the sliding connection with the frame resulting from the cooperation between the slotted yoke (l and the yoke block or projection 7 Consequently the tub, in addition to partaking generally of the swinging motion of the levers 10, also has a tilting motion which is especially pronounced at the ends of the travel of the levers. This gives to the tub the peculiar motion which causes its contents to have the figure 8'' motion referred to above.

The shock of the n'iechanisn'i which would otherwise be caused by the rapid reversals of movement of the tub with its heavy contents is cushioned by the spring 12, which. as above noted, also acts to retain the machine assembly.

The machine of the present invention is of very simple construction and therefore easy and economical to make. l urthermore, the great ease of dismounting and mounting the tub is extremely advantageous, not only because it facilitates the cleaning and repairing of the tub, but also because it makes it possible to ship the machine to the consinner, with the tub packed separately, so that one man can carry it into the house and set it up. Heretol'ore, at least two men have been required for this purpose.

The terms and expressions which we have employed are used as terms of description and not of limitation, and we have no intention, in the use of such terms and expressions, of excluding any equivalent of the features shown and described, or portions thereof, but recognize that various modifications are possible within the scope of the invention claimed.

lVhat we claim is:

1. In a washing machine of the oscillating type, a tub, a pair of oscillating levers provided at the top with slots within which the tub is detachably supported, and a spring for retaining the tub on said levers and for cushioning all reversal of movement of the tub upon the oscillations of said levers.

2. In a washing machine of the oscillating type, a frame, a tub, a pair of oscillating levers mounted on said frame and provided at the top with slots within which the tub is detachably supported, and a slotted connection between the lower portion of the tub and said frame, whereby the oscillating of said levers imparts to the tub a combined swinging and tilting movement.

In a washing machine of the oscillating type, a frame, a tub, a pair of oscillating levers mounted on said frame and provided at the top with slots within which the tub is detachably supported, a slotted connection between the lower portion of the tub and said frame and a spring detachably connected between the tub and the frame for retaining the tub on said levers and for maintaining said slotted connection.

i. In a washing machine of the oscillating type, a tub, a pair of oscillating levers by which the tub is pivotally and detachably supported, means for causing the tub to tilt about its pivotal connection with the levers as it is oscillated by said levers, and a spring for retaining the tub on the lovers, and cushioning all of its reversals of motion.

5. In a washing machine of the oscillating type, a frame, a tub, a pair of oscillating levers upon which the tub is pivotally and detachably supported at substantially its central portion, a slotted connection between the tub and the frame for causing the tub to tilt about its pivotal connection with the levers as it is oscillated, and a spring for retaining the tubon the levers, and cushioning all of its reversals of motion.

6. In a washing machine of the oscillating type, a frame, a tub, a pair of oscillating levers mounted on said frame, the tub being pivotally and detach-ably supported upon said levers at substantially its central por- 1 tion, a yoke secured to the tub adjacent to its bottom and provided with a slot, a projection upon said frame over which said slot fits, a bracket depending fromsaid tub, and spring detachably connected between said 5 bracket and said frame.

THOMAS XV. BEHAN. HERMAN DOUGHTY. 

